Emily Pedersen is on a bit of a roll. On Wednesday, she won a men’s professional event on the ECCO Tour in Denmark. Last Sunday, she won an amateur event on the Danish Golf Union’s Elite Tour.
That probably sounds a little confusing given that Pedersen is a professional, but she said in Denmark, pros are allowed to compete in amateur events. At this point, players are excited for any opportunity to tee it up in the COVID-19 era.
Pedersen was one of nine women invited to play in this week’s ECCO Tour event, the Bravo Tours Open. The 24-year-old carded rounds of 66-67 to clip Oliver Suhr by one at Romo Golf Club and earn about $5,150.
“It’s just been great to compete again,” said Pedersen, who was back at home on the sofa after a four-hour drive home. “To get that little nerve and feel your heart pump again. It’s just fun to have a scorecard in your pocket again.”
LPGA player Nanna Koerstz Madsen, a winner on both the LET and Symetra Tours, took a share of third.
The women played from about 5,875 yards at Romo while the men played from 6,944 yards. Pedersen said she felt the yardage was set up so that both genders were hitting comparable irons into the greens.
“Some were annoyed that we had to play forward,” said Pedersen of male players’ reactions to the women playing a shorter course.
Others were “cool with it.”
“I always feel like there’s a little bit more pressure,” she said of playing alongside the men, “kind of like you want to show off more when it’s the guys.”
Pedersen said there were no spectators or caddies at the ECCO event. Rather than exchange scorecards, players inputted scores on their phones. Hand sanitizer was on every tee box.
Pedersen, who represented Europe at the 2017 Solheim Cup, last competed on the Ladies European Tour in mid-March at the Investec South African Women’s Open where she placed seventh. The 2015 LET Rookie of the Year and former Ladies British Amateur champion planned to come over to the U.S. to compete on the Symetra Tour before the coronavirus halted tournament play. Now she’s not sure what’s next.
She’ll be in the fields for the both the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open and AIG Women’s British Open in August, the next two events on the LET’s schedule.
“I think it’s toughest not knowing when you’re going to be able to potentially earn some money,” said Pedersen. “I think that’s the hardest part. Everything is so unknown.”
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